Samardzic: Serbian elections in Kosovo are not a provocation
Serbian Minister for Kosovo Slobodan Samardzic said on Wednesday that Belgrade's intention is not to provoke by organizing Serbian elections in Kosovo on May 11, but that the context is such that elections must be held because areas inhabited by Serbs need representatives chosen in a democratic way.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Thursday, April 24, 2008
"We must bear in mind the context - that Belgrade does not recognize Kosovo's unilateral independence and is organizing elections on its territory. The UN Secretary General's Special Representative Joachim Ruecker in fact illegally transferred authorizations for holding elections to provisional authorities in Pristina, thus violating UN Security Council Resolution 1244," Samardzic said.
He urged an agreement with the UN on the functioning of authorities in Kosovo Serb areas.
Samardzic reiterated that Belgrade does not recognize the EU mission, EULEX, in Kosovo since it has been deployed without Serbia's consent, without the approval of the UN Security Council and on the basis of illegal documents such as Ahtisaari's plan that has never been approved by the UN Security Council.
"That is why the EU mission is not only legal, but also a political problem for relations between Serbia and the European Union", Samardzic said.
